If one of your goals for the New Year is to save money on your credit card bills, you might be able to do it even without a balance transfer. You could negotiate better rates and fees instead. Don’t wait for better opportunities or credit card offers to come your way. Improve your existing credit card offers today!

What can you negotiate with your credit card company?

Just about anything can be negotiated, within reason. Is your credit card’s annual fee higher than the fee on most comparable cards? Ask to have it lowered! Are your interest rates just a few points too high for you to want to stay with your credit card company? Tell them so!

Why would credit card companies be willing to negotiate?

A credit card company exists to earn a profit. They only profit as long as customers use their credit cards, pay their fees, and pay their interest rates. You’re a valuable asset to them and they don’t want to lose you to the competition.

At the same time, it’s relatively easy for you to leave one credit card company for another. For example, you might leave your existing rewards card to take advantage of the 0% interest introductory offer on purchases through the Citibank Clear Platinum Visa. By letting your credit card company know up front that you’re prepared to leave them for a competitor, you exercise your power as a consumer and have a chance of convincing your current bank to lower their rate (even if they can’t exactly match the other offer).

How can you negotiate lower fees and interest rates?

Negotiating credit card terms doesn’t have to be difficult. Having the confidence to make the call and tell your credit card company what you want is half the battle. Other than that, just pick up the phone!

Try to speak to a supervisor or manager — someone who can actually authorise changes to your account, rather than the first customer service representative who answers the phone. If you’re generally happy with your relationship with them, tell them so. But then lay out your concerns, what you would like to see changed, and why.

Be realistic. Don’t ask for a 10% drop in your interest rate for example. You aren’t likely to get it, and you risk alienating the supervisor from the start if you’re over-demanding. Let them know what the most similar credit cards are offering. You could even tell them specifically what offer you’re considering taking if you leave them — it shows that you’ve put real thought into the prospect.

Stay calm. Make a logical case and reasonable requests. If you do, you might just be surprised by how willing your credit card company is to work with you rather than risk losing you as a customer altogether.